Santa Monica, CA April 1, 2010 webstream recording (sound quality: Ex-; best-sounding webstream capture I've ever heard)
01 Them That Do Nothing 02 Effortlessly
03 If Only the Moon
Were Up
04 Something Familiar
05 Let's Write a Book
06 Rockist
(School of Language cover)
07 Each Time Is a New Time
08 Share the Words
09 Tell Me Keep Me
10 Interview with DJ Jason Bentley
ROB SEZ:Field Music — how do they do it? How do the Brewis brothers throw so many genres into their magical musical blender and come out with such tasty prog-pop-funk+? And how the heck do they re-create it so effectively in a live setting? I'm hard-pressed to say which of these sets I like the best. They were recorded almost exactly 6 years apart, and have no songs in common. The sound quality is extraordinary for a webstream capture. Field Music just released their latest studio concoction, Flat White Moon (video of lead track "Orion from the Street" is below). I've heard it, and it's fab.
• Yesterday's Tomorrow — Live 2018 N.C.-centric Release
• Chris Stamey & Peter Holsapple's Our Back Pages — on vinyl & CD
• Chris' Brand New Shade of Blue — on vinyl for RSD
Warm Up Your Wallet, Your Plastic &/or Your Crypto-Currency
Peter, Chris, Mitch, Will, Don & company Winston-Salem musical nostalgia at its best (details below)
Digital-only delight to be released on vinyl & CD in June
Act fast:just 250 copies of this one will be released on vinyl in July
ROB SEZ:In a mystical sign the pandemic might not actually last forever, the musical gods have smiled on fans of The dB's and their cohorts. Thanks to Omnivore Recordings (what an amazing label they are), we shall soon be spoiled by an embarassment of musical riches. While two of these titles are "new" thanks to vinyl- and CD-format releases of material that saw prior digital-only release, one of them is entirely new: Yesterday's Tomorrow: Live at the Ramkat 2018. This was a one-night-only live extravaganza that saw reunions of several bands Chris Stamey, Peter Holsapple, Mitch Easter, Will Rigby, Don Dixon (etc.) were in once upon a time, many moons ago. Sneakers, Little Diesel, Sacred Irony, Rittenhouse Square and many others came together for the event, and Mr. Stamey and Mitch made sure the evening was beautifully recorded for posterity. This one's out May 7th on CD and download, with Our Back Pages (on CD and vinyl) to follow in June and Brand New Shade of Blue (on vinyl) in July, coinciding with the summer Record Store Day release dates.
sample Let's Active's "Room With a View" from the extravaganza
• Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey: Our Back Pages - pre-order CD release on Omnivore HERE; read about RSD vinyl release HERE(note: CD and digital re-release will have 2 tracks not found in the original download: "Darby Hall" and "In Spain")
• Chris Stamey & Fellow Travelers: Brand New Shade of Blue - read about RSD vinyl release HERE & Omnivore digital release HERE
Live performance by reunited, iconic members of Winston-Salem scene
Package contains detailed liner notes by Stamey and a 24-page color history booklet
with anecdotes, artifacts, and rare photographs.
In a fun, Nuggets-like trip back to the Summer of Love era, Yesterday’s Tomorrow: Celebrating the Winston-Salem Sound, due out April 30, 2021 on Omnivore Recordings, shines a strobe light on the vibrant ’60s and ’70s Combo Corner rock scene of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Original members of bands such as Arrogance, Little Diesel, Sacred Irony, and Rittenhouse Square —including Mitch Easter (Let’s Active); Peter Holsapple, Will Rigby, and Chris Stamey (the dB’s); singers Don Dixon, Dale Smith, Lynn Blakey, Bob Northcott; and many others — convened on May 12, 2018, at Winston-Salem’s Ramkat club to revisit those fuzzbox years, and this remarkable live recording shines brightly with their camaraderie and precise enthusiasm for those days of yore. In the mind-blowing songs of now-vanished local legends Captain Speed and the Fungi Electric Mothers, the classic set list of the Imperturbable Teutonic Griffin, and amid the amusing scene portrayals of collectors’ favorite Rittenhouse Square, the electric guitars soar, with plenty of feedback and sizzle. With the added oomph of the Occasional Orchestra (live strings, percussion, and brass), music direction by Doug Davis (Vagabond Saints’ Society), and stops along the way for affectionate renditions of then-faves by Bubble Puppy, the Easybeats, the Music Machine, the Electric Prunes, the Beatles, and even Kool and the Gang, there’s a lot to love here.
The impetus for this extraordinary concert was that Stamey had a book fresh off the press, a song-based memoir called A Spy in the House of Loud. A portion of the book references his time in New York, but the first part remembers, song by key song, the late 1960s and early ’70s creative rock music scene in Winston. This was sometimes called the Combo Corner scene, after the title of a short-lived column in Guitar Player magazine was repurposed to ironically christen a hangout spot at R.J. Reynolds High School. A surprising number of the Combo Corner crew went on to play and produce music professionally in the decades that followed — often with one another in different configurations (e.g., dB’s, Let’s Active, or with R.E.M., Steve Earle, Matthew Sweet, Vassar Clements, Hootie & the Blowfish, Big Star's Third Live, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Golden Palominos) and in different locales. They were still in regular contact the day Stamey suggested they try to “play the soundtrack to the book.”
The band that most credit with starting the ball rolling here, back in 1968, was the aforementioned Captain Speed. Sadly, their bandleader, singer/bassist Bud Carlisle (real name Richard Moore), had died in 2010, and the psychedelic pioneers never released any music whatsoever, although their live shows (complete with flying duck) were still the stuff of local legend. In order to perform their essential songs, Easter, Borthwick, Davis, and Corky McMillan (Sacred Irony’s bassist) created an ensemble just for the event, later dubbed the Love Valets—a tongue-in-cheek moniker taken from “N.C.’s Woodstock,” a 1970 music festival in Love Valley, N.C. And likewise, the catch-all for the new big-ensemble groupings was the Royal Opposition, only a consonant away from Easter and Borthwick’s seminal 1968 surf-rock combo, the Loyal Opposition.
Chris explains: “From the ’50s R&B stylings of the “5” Royales’ “Think” through the dense mystery of Captain Speed’s “Reptilian Disaster” all the way to the future-punk of Little Diesel’s “Kissy Boys” and Sneakers’ “Condition Red” and the sophistication of Let’s Active’s “Room with a View,” there’s a ley line running through a scene and a city, one that you’ll find is worth exploring. Maybe every city has a beloved scene in its rearview worthy of celebration? I hope this is indeed the case. But this one is our story. Or at least a time-tunnel’s glimpse into a part of it. As Captain Speed sang all those years ago, ‘Our high kites do star those nights, where you can see beyond today, tomorrow . . . forever.’ ”
The concert was captured to multitrack, lovingly mixed by Stamey and Easter, and is now available as Yesterday’s Tomorrow: Celebrating the Winston-Salem Sound. A multi-decade tour-de-force, and an important document in itself, Yesterday’s Tomorrow is more than just a celebration. It’s a history lesson, with the present happily dressed up in the past, looking toward the future.
Track Listing:
Hot Smoke & Sassafras—Rittenhouse Square
Reptilian Disaster—The Love Valets
Room With a View—The Royal Opposition feat. Lynn Blakey & Mitch Easter
Talk Talk—The Imperturbable Teutonic Griffin
Yesterday’s Tomorrow—The Love Valets
Hollywood Swinging—Little Diesel
I See Love—Sacred Irony
Black Death—The Love Valets
S'il Vous Plaît (Live) – Sneakers
Got to Get You Into My Life—The Royal Opposition feat. Don Dixon
Condition Red (Live) – Sneakers
Every Word Means No—The Royal Opposition feat. Mitch Easter
Think feat. Don Dixon—The Royal Opposition
Like Wow—Rittenhouse Square
King Battle of the Bands—Rittenhouse Square
Kissy Boys—Little Diesel
The Train Stops Here—The Royal Opposition feat. Mitch Easter
I Am Your Doctor—Sacred Irony
Ruby—Sneakers
Maybe I’m Amazed—The Royal Opposition feat. Don Dixon
Good Times—Sacred Irony
Galaxies of Love—The Royal Opposition feat. Bob Northcott
I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)—The Imperturbable Teutonic Griffin
This Is the Kit Compilation of Live Tracks 2016-2021
soundboard recordings (quality: Ex- to VG+, all are webcast/webstream recordings)
SAMPLE VIDEO: "Moonshine Freeze" - Live at Glastonbury 2019
01 No Such Thing(live in France)
02 This Is What You Did(live in France)
03 Coming to Get You Nowhere (CBS Saturday Sessions)
04 Off Off On (live in France)
05 All Written Out In Numbers(live at The Smokehouse)
06 Bullet Proof (live at The Smokehouse)
07 Magic Spell (Paris Sessions)
08 Hotter Colder (live at Rough Trade)
09 Was Magician (live performance video)
10 Bad Feeling (live in France - Muzz cover)
11 Lemon World (live in France - The National cover)
12 Misunderstanding (live at Wee Studio)
13 Moonshine Freeze (live at Glastonbury)
14 Coming to Get You Nowhere (New Sounds, Kate solo)
ROB SEZ: This is the Kit — wow! Kate Stables & company are knocking me out with their latest release Off Off On. I'd heard about the band many years ago when they were labeled "alternative folk". Good stuff for what it was, but something stunning happened in the last year or two: This Is the Kit now has a uniquely compelling sound, a great blend of rock, folk, world, psychedelic, singer-songwriter, with a judicious deployment of horns, and ... I'm not sure what else. But it's REALLY GOOD in Kate and the band's capable hands. No wonder The National, Elbow, BBC6, Sharon Van Etten (etc.) have championed the group. My enthusiasm prompted me to seek out their back catalog and more recent live performances, which illustrate the onstage magic they conjure. Originally, I was gonna share the 2018 live set below as my "main post," along with some miscellaneous live tracks. My custom-made Live, Recently compilation turned out so well, I'm reversing the usual order. MEGA THANKS to Yousef for sharing the Manchester Folk Festival recording. Check out this band & give them a generous listen.
another fab photo by Chris Sikich
Manchester Folk Festival Home Manchester, UK Oct. 18, 2018
The dB's — invited by Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo ... and they sing "Hanukkah Time"!
01 intro
02 We Were Happy There
03 Soul Kiss
04 You Got It Wrong
05 The Fight
06 Ash
07 Home for the Holidays
08 Love Is for Lovers
09 Hanukkah Time
10 Big Brown Eyes
11 World to Cry
12 Excitement
13 Dynamite
14 Amplifier
15 (I Thought) You Wanted
to Know
16 Cycles Per Second
17 Neverland
ROB SEZ: I do love these surprise soundboard recordings that drop unexpectedly into my lap! HUGE THANKS to YLTfan for recording and to neil d for mixing and mastering this one, which sounds fantastic. Speaking of surprises, check out the super deep cut "Ash" from Ride the Wild Tom-Tom, which might not have been played live prior to this gig. This is the only known live soundboard recording of the band from 2007.
Here's Ira Kaplan's dB's rave from his 2007 Hanukkah diary: I’ve said it before, and I said it onstage last night, and I’m saying it again: Without the dB’s, it’s unlikely there would be Yo La Tengo. I’ll save the many reasons for the Director’s Cut of this diary, but suffice to say that sharing a stage with them on Thursday night was exciting and emotional beyond reason. Back to the classic quartet for the first time since their comeback shows, they opened with “We Were Happy There” from Repercussion. What followed was incredible. Some of the hits, of course — “Amplifier,” “Neverland,” “Love Is for Lovers,” “Dynamite,” “Big Brown Eyes” . . . who am I kidding, all their songs are hits in my book. And a selection of oddities — “Soul Kiss”! “You Got It Wrong”! “Christmas Time” revised to “Hanukkah Time”! “Excitement”! — that had me choked up from start to finish. They’ll be at Southpaw tonight, and so would I if I weren’t otherwise occupied.
REPERCUSSION:Explore the connections between The dB's and Yo La Tengo HERE.
audience recording (sound quality VG-;
transfer from first-generation tape)
Pylon: early eighties indie rock heroes
DISC
1 (first set)
1.intro
2.Crazy
3.Working Is No Problem
4.Read a Book
5.Cool
6.Gravity
7.Altitude
8.Italian Movie Theme
9.Reptiles
10.
Beep (early version)
11.
Stop It
12.
Volume
13.
encore applause
14.
M-Train (brief cut repaired at 2:33)
DISC
2 (second set)
1.Crazy
2.3x3
3.Gravity
4.Dub
5.Cool
6.Danger
7.Weather Radio
8.No Clocks
9.Stop It
10.
Beep
11.
Volume
12.
encore applause
13.
M-Train
14.
Feast on My Heart(brief cut repaired at 2:41)
15.
encore applause
16.
Driving School
17.
outro
REPERCUSSION:Chris and Gene produced Chomp, Pylon’s second (and some say best) album, most of which was recorded at Mitch Easter’s Drive-In Studio. Have a listen to this show and hear why R.E.M. covered the Pylon song "Crazy" and R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry told Rolling Stone that Pylon (not R.E.M.) were “the best band in America.” Propulsive rhythms that you can dance to, jagged-but-hooky guitar riffs, yelping/growling vocals — how bizarre-cool can you get??
BIG OL’ THANKS to the taper and dclubok for sharing!
Someone at the torrent tracker
had these comments about some of the tracks:
Set 1: Track 10 - Beep (from Chomp, but the lyrics seem a bit
different, perhaps these were just working lyrics prior to completing the
lyrics that ended up on the album)
Set 2: Track 2 - 3x3 (unreleased as far as I
know, only performed live)
Set 2: Track 16 - Driving School (from Gyrate, was on original pressings, later
pressings [as well as European pressings] used "Recent Title"
instead) FLAC
MORE REPERCUSSION: Here's Vanessa Briscoe Hay (Pylon vocalist), describing the recording of the band's second album, Chomp (produced by Chris Stamey and Gene Holder) to music writer Fred Mills in 2007:
"Working with Chris and Gene, they both
had such different personalities and they really complemented each other. Chris
was playing around with things, stuff we hadn't thought of, like noisegating
the drums; he just thought outside the box, and he didn't look at anything like
it was a problem, but more like, ‘Well, if this isn't going to work, what else
can we do?'"
soundboard recording (quality VG++; sounds like a master tape source; unlike other boots, this recording responds well to treble adjustment)
01 Driving School (fades in) 02 Information 03 Efficiency 04 Italian Movie Theme 05 Precaution
06 Working Is No Problem 07 Modern Day Fashion Woman 08 Read a Book 09 The Human body 10 Recent Title* 11 Gravity 12 Cool 13 Weather Radio 14 Reptile 15 Danger 16 Dub 17 Volume 18 No Clocks
19 Stop It
20 Feast On My Heart
21 3 x 3
22 Batman/Wipeout Medley (fades out)
*set two begins with track 10
TT: 1 hr. 15 mins.
Pylon: live 1981 fab photo by Jay Thomas
Von Henmon's
Columbia, S.C. Summer 1981 audience recording (sound quality VG+; 2ng-gen tape source; quite listenable show [this was said to be a soundboard, but it can't be b/c crowd is as loud as the band]) 01 Cool (fades in) 02 Crazy 03 Weather Radio 04 Danger 05 3X301 Driving School (fades in)
02 Information 03 Efficiency 04 Italian Movie Theme 05 Precaution
06 Working Is No Problem 07 Modern Day Fashion Woman 08 Read a Book 09 The Human body 10 Recent Title* 11 Gravity 12 Cool 13 Weather Radio 14 Reptile 15 Danger 16 Dub 17 Volume 18 No Clocks 19 Stop It 20 Feast On My Heart 21 3X3 22 Batman/Wipeout Medley (fades out) *set two begins with track 10 TT: 1 hr. 15 mins.
Pylon at Little Kings, 2007. Cool photos by Mike White via Flickr
06 No Clocks 07 Stop It 08 Driving School 09 Gravity 10 Read a Book 11 Precaution 12 Crazy (repeated) 13 Reptile 14 Dub 15 Volume 16 Feast On My Heart 17 M-Train 18 Cool
TT: 1 hr. 2 mins.
Pylon: Randall Bewley (R.I.P.) - guitar Michael Lachowski - bass Curtis Crowe - drums Vanessa Briscoe Hay - vocals FLAC
What's Wrong? 
What's Wrong? 
